FTSE edges up as Britain votes and polls point to a Labour government while investors wait to see what comes next By John Abiona Updated: 17:00 EDT, 4 July 2024 e-mail View comments The FTSE 100 climbed almost 1 per cent on election day, as polls suggested Labour would win by a hefty margin and investors wait to see what comes next. London’s main markets edged higher with the FTSE 100 up 0.9 per cent, or 70.
15 points, to 8241.26, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.4 per cent, or 80.
92 points, to 20,610.34. Investors shrugged off the potential change of government, which has been largely baked into share prices since the election was called six weeks ago.
But once the dust has settled on the election result, all eyes will be on what Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do to get the UK economy moving. Barclays has sold its consumer finance business offering German and Austrian customers credit cards, personal loans and deposits to Vienna-based Bawag Group for £423m British bank Barclays has sold its consumer finance business offering German and Austrian customers credit cards, personal loans and deposits. It offloaded the division to Vienna-based Bawag Group for £423million, according to reports.
Consumer Bank Europe was put up for sale last year. The deal aligns with Barclays’ strategy to exit European retail banking to cut costs. In April, the bank sold its mortgage book in Italy as it looks to exit retail banking in the country.
In 2022, it offloaded its 7.4 per cent stake in Africa.